French Stuffed Red Bell Peppers With Fennel And Goats Cheese Recipes

FRENCH STUFFED RED BELL PEPPERS WITH FENNEL AND GOAT'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 120C/240F/Gas 1.
• Cut the peppers in half, discard the core & seeds and also trim away the white membrane too.
• Grease a Le Creuset roasting or ovenproof dish.
• Cut the onion & fennel bulb into 6 wedges each. (Keep the the delicate green fronds from the fennel bulb & put to one side.).
• Put the onion wedges, fennel wedges & cushed garlic into a mixing bowl & add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & black pepper - mix well.
• Divide the onion & fennel wedges between the 6 pepper halves, arranging them neatly within the peppers & season well.Pour the remaining oil & vinegar dressing over the top of them.
• Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the peppers are soft & just tinged brown.
• Remove the stuffed peppers from the oven & increase the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• Sprinkle the chopped sun-dried tomatoes over the top of the peppers.
• Slice the goats cheese & arrange over the top of the stuffed peppers; return them the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted & bubbling.
• Remove from the oven, leave to cool slightly and serve them warm or at room temperature with the cooked dressing drizzled over the top of them.
• Garnish with the green fronds kept from the fennel bulbs.
• Serve as a starter, 1 pepper half per person with a side salad or as a main course - 2 pepper halves per person with bread & salad.
• These can also be served as a very colourful & elegant vegetable accompaniment!

MINI BELL PEPPERS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil. Place peppers on the baking sheet and roast 8 to10 minutes (small peppers - less than 2 inches long - will cook faster), turning them over halfway through. The peppers should be soft but not charred, except perhaps in a few spots. Remove from heat and allow to cool. If there are some larger peppers in the bag and they haven't softened in 10 minutes, return to oven for another 5.
• While peppers are cooling, make filling. Combine goat cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until mix is very smooth, at least one minute. Scrape down sides of bowl and process for another minute. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch star tip.
• When peppers have cooled, slice off ends just below the shoulders. Carefully remove any seeds and membranes. The peppers should be intact, but sometimes, they split down one side. Place any that have not split upright in a small glass or cup to facilitate filling, and pipe in goat cheese mix. Lay those that have split on a plate, pipe on the filling and close the pepper around the filling. Arrange stuffed peppers on a plate or platter. Serve at once, or chill until 30 minutes before serving. Bring to room temperature so cheese is soft and creamy.

BRUSCHETTA WITH RED PEPPERS AND GOAT'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375F.
• Put peppers on an unoiled baking pan and roast them in oven f or 20-30 minutes, until they start to collapse and the skins blacken.
• Transfer to a bowl and cover to trap moisture. Leave for about 10 minutes until the skin loosens.
• Peel the peppers, cut open and remove the stem and seeds.
• Tear pepper flesh into strips.
• Dress with olive oil, salt and black pepper, and basil.
• Rub hot bread with the garlic cloves and sprinkle with salt, black pepper and olive oil.
• Lay the peppers on top and crumble the goat's cheese over them.
• Dribble over a little more olive oil and serve